Plymouth eyes sewer project bonds

City says work needed to upgrade infrastructure.

City says work needed to upgrade infrastructure.

PLYMOUTH Â? Whether youÂ?re talking state regulations, sewage lift stations or administration buildings, nothing lasts forever. And with that in mind, Plymouth officials are now looking at the prospect of more than $5 million in repairs and upgrades to the cityÂ?s sanitary sewer infrastructure, and it appears that the city will be selling bonds to get the job done.

At MondayÂ?s regular meeting of the Plymouth Common Council, council members voted unanimously to start the process of selling up to $3.8 million in municipal bonds to help undertake projects that will help the city meet state requirements to avoid discharging sewage to waterways during rainy weather, as well as upgrading a pair of aging sewage lift stations and adding on the wastewater treatment plantÂ?s administration building.

Unfortunately, the move is likely to mean an increase of about $1 per month on the bill of an average residential customer.

That the increase will be so small, and that the system has operated so well for years, Mayor Mark Senter said, is a testament to the people who make it happen.

Â?Our wastewater treatment plant is far and above other cities of a similar size,Â? he said. Â?Plymouth is a leader in this field.Â?

There are several reasons that the work is needed. First, the state is requiring the city to drastically curtail the amount of sewage discharged into the Yellow River during combined sewer overflow events, when the amount of storm water and sewage entering the treatment plant is too much for the plant to handle.

The answer is a planned project that will place underground storage reservoirs at strategic locations within the city, allowing the sewage to be stored until the plant can accept it.

As for the two lift stations, well, theyÂ?re just getting old.

Â?They were installed in 1977 and have far outlived their expected 20-year life span,Â? Senter said.

Finally, the plan calls for the addition of four new offices, a conference room, and a break room at the wastewater treatment plant administration building, along with renovations of the heating, cooling and electric systems.

Steve Carter, of Umbaugh and Associates, who is helping to guide the city through the bond sale, gave Common Council members three options to take care of the most needed $3.8 million of the $5.4 million worth of needed work, which is expected to take place over the next five years.

First, the city could finance the entire $3.8 million with a 20-year bond, which would cost a little over $300,000 per year in debt service. To meet that obligation, the city would have to raise rates about 6 percent Â? costing the aforementioned $1 extra per month for most residential customers.

Another option, Carter said, would be to borrow $3.3 million and dip into the departmentÂ?s cash balance to make up the difference. This would require an increase of about 75 cents per month for residential customers.

Finally, the city could sell only $2 million in bonds, and use the entire cash balance. But that option, Carter said, was not recommended.

Â?You have spent years getting to where you are with that cash balance,Â? he said. Â?Once you lose that, it is hard to get back there again.Â?

In the end, council members voted to pursue the first option, although it is far from a done deal. Once the proposal is worked into an ordinance, it will have to be published for 10 days before a public hearing to receive input from residents. Carter said that hearing could be held as early as the regular board meeting March 24.

City Attorney E. Nelson Chipman said that, if the ordinance passes, construction bids for the first phase of the projects Â? likely the combined sewer overflow project Â? could be sought as early as July.